The Political Economy Of China S Infrastructure Development In Africa

This book sheds light on structural drivers that led to the Chinese omnipresence in African infrastructure markets and offers a strategic-relational approach to the study of African agency in Sino-African infrastructure encounters. Case studies cover the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), Zambia’s road sector as well as Tanzania’s Bagamoyo port and Standard Gauge Railway. It is shown that African (state) agency in the infrastructure sector is contingent upon dynamic state-society relations and distinct political-economic contexts and constraints. The book problematises contradictions related to infrastructure debt, the emergence of Sino-African public-private partnerships and the intensifying geopolitics-cum-geoeconomics of infrastructure across Africa.

This book examines China’s political, economic, and diplomatic engagement in Africa. The rapid increase of China’s economic and political involvement in Africa is the most momentous development on the continent of Africa since the beginning of the twenty-first century. China is now Africa’s largest trading partner and the largest infrastructure financier. Additionally, it is the fastest growing economy and source of foreign direct investment. This monograph seeks to understand the dynamics of the escalating Chinese investments in African economies and the political implications of this development for Africa. This work will interest scholars, students, academics, and policy makers on the fields of Chinese and African politics, development studies, and international political economy.

This book examines the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in East Africa. The BRI is considered China's central geopolitical and geo-economic project in the era of President Xi Jinping. Through this work, the author aims to contribute to filling some research gaps, such as the lack of depth in studies of individual BRI projects and the underconsideration of processing narratives in participating countries. The guiding question is the extent to which the BRI is a political or hegemonic project of the CCP-directed state-civil society complex in East Africa. To answer these questions, databases of international organizations and policy documents are analyzed. In addition, the author conducts a qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles from local media houses in the countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania to examine three infrastructure projects. The work illustrates that the BRI contributes to increasing connectivity in East Africa. At the same time, the compression of economic relations and the implementation of infrastructure projects in East Africa lead to numerous consequences and contour a hegemonic project.

"This book describes China's growing range of activities in Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region. The three most important instruments China has at its disposal in Africa are development aid, investments and trade policy. The Chinese government, which believes the Western development aid model has failed, is looking for new forms of aid and development in Africa. China's economic success can partly be ascribed to the huge availability of cheap labour, which is primarily employed in export-oriented industries. China is looking for the required raw materials in Africa, and for new marketplaces. Investments are being made on a large scale in Africa by Chinese state-controlled firms and private companies, particularly in the oil-producing countries (Angola, Nigeria and Sudan) and countries rich in minerals (Zambia). Third, the trade policy China is conducting is analysed in China and compared with that of Europe and the United States. In case studies the specific situation in several African countries is examined. In Zambia the mining industry, construction and agriculture are described. One case study of Sudan deals with the political presence of China in Sudan and the extent to which Chinese arms suppliers contributed to the current crisis in Darfur. The possibility of Chinese diplomacy offering a solution in that conflict is discussed. The conclusion considers whether social responsibility can be expected of the Chinese government and companies and if this is desirable, and to what extent the Chinese model in Africa can act as an example - or not - for the West"--Publisher's description.

As the United States slowly disengages from the Middle East and Europe faces internal challenges, a new actor is quietly exerting greater influence across North Africa: China. Beijing's growing footprint in North Africa encompasses, but is not limited to, trade, infrastructure development, ports, shipping, financial cooperation, tourism and manufacturing. It is continuing to expand its co-operation with North African countries, not only in the economic and cultural spheres, but also those of diplomacy and defence. This engagement with North Africa relates to the key aim of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which wants to connect Asia, Africa and Europe and sees potential in North Africa's strategic geographic location. This book is the first to analyse China's role in North Africa. It comprises of five leading country experts - Anouar Boukhars, Yahia Zoubir, Sarah Yerkes, Tareki Magresi and Nael Shama – who examine the various socio-economic, political and security aspects of China's relationship with Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. The book explores how China is displaying a development model that seeks to combine authoritarianism with economic growth, a model and that has an eager audience among regimes across the MENA region. It reveals how the China-North Africa relationship fits within the broader dynamics of increasing China-US rivalry. In doing so, contributors explain why China's growing role in North Africa is likely to have far-reaching economic and geopolitical consequences for both countries in the region and around the world.

The book seeks to understand China's evolving political and economic role in Africa and assesses what impacts Chinese aid, trade and investment have on the politics of specific African countries, and the extent to which it excites geopolitical competition.

In recent years, China and India have become the most important economic partners of Africa and their footprints are growing by leaps and bounds, transforming Africa's international relations in a dramatic way. Although the overall impact of China and India's engagement in Africa has been positive in the short-term, partly as a result of higher returns from commodity exports fuelled by excessive demands from both countries, little research exists on the actual impact of China and India's growing involvement on Africa's economic transformation. This book examines in detail the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing presence of China and India in Africa, and proposes critical interventions that African governments must undertake in order to negotiate with China and India from a stronger and more informed platform.